Supreme Court returns Texas abortion case to appeals court

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court has returned a lawsuit over Texas’ six-week abortion ban to a federal appeals court that has twice allowed the law to stay in effect, rather than to a district judge who sought to block it.

Justice Neil Gorsuch on Thursday signed the court’s order that granted the request of abortion clinics for the court to act speedily.

But the clinics wanted the case sent to U.S. Judge Robert Pitman, who’d previously though briefly blocked enforcement of the Texas abortion ban.

Texas has said it’ll seek to keep the case bottled up at the appeals court for the foreseeable future.

The law prohibits abortions around six weeks, before some women know they’re pregnant.